Troy Jackson, the Democratic candidate in the Maine Senate race, apologized for recent remarks about how Jewish people view the term “genocide” amid the war in Gaza. Jackson’s recent comments come as Israel remains a major dividing line between him and Republican Senator Susan Collins. The Maine Senate race is expected to be one of the most competitive races of the 2026 midterm elections, and polls point to a close race.
Although Maine generally has a Democratic lean, Collins has won by large margins in the past due to her personal popularity and moderate image. Jackson, the former president of the Maine Senate, is hoping to dislodge her support among independents and moderate Democrats to flip the seat in the November 3 election, as President Donald Trump’s declining approval rating fuels a more favorable national environment. Jackson, who has said the United States should not be providing a “blank check” to the Israeli government, has faced scrutiny over the recent remarks made to News Center Maine about how Jewish Americans view the term “genocide.” “It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust.
It fits that description. And it’s an unbelievable thing that’s happened there that people that are innocent are being murdered, and it is a genocide,” he said. Jackson apologized for the remarks in a statement provided to Newsweek on Thursday.
Senate, I’ll fight antisemitism and work for lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,” Jackson said. The “genocide” label remains a divisive sticking point among Democrats. Many more progressive Democrats like Jackson have accused the Israeli government of engaging in a genocide in Gaza, but others have pushed back on that label, arguing that Israel’s actions were in response to an October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people.
At least 74,000 people have died in Gaza, according to the , citing Gaza’s Health Ministry. Thirty-one percent of Americans believe Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide, compared to 20 percent who say Israel has not committed a genocide, according to an AP-NORC poll of 3,040 adults from June 11 to 17, 2026. Collins and Jackson are facing a tight race in Maine, according to the latest polling data.
Jackson led a new poll of the Senate races from AARP published on Thursday. He was up 3 points, 50 percent to 47 percent, in that poll, which surveyed 982 likely voters from September 20 to 22. It was conducted by Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research.
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